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Dickinson Police Dept. offers safety seminar

Due to interest in the area, the Dickinson Police Department has developed a one-hour seminar called Situational Awareness and Personal Safety.

It is available to groups within the general public for free, according to a press release.

All training is contingent upon personnel, classroom and related equipment availability, according to the release.

In addition, DPD Capt. Joe Cianni urges those who have purchased weapons and self-defense mechanisms to learn how to use them well.

"They put themselves in more danger by introducing some type of personal protective device into that type of scenario without having, first of all, the proper training in which to deploy it and, second of all, having made the decision to utilize that, knowing that they're actually capable of using it," Cianni said.

Using personal defense items when not in danger is considered assault, he added.

"You have to feel that you're in eminent threat of serious bodily injury or death," Cianni said.

Personal defense items can be used to help another person who is in danger, he said.

"There's no cut and dry -- every scenario has to be taken case-by-case in the totality of the circumstances," Cianni said. "They take what a reasonable and prudent person, put in your position observing what you're observing and feeling what you're feeling, how they would react."

Taser owners also must have a permit to conceal their Taser, he said.

Those interested in attending a DPD safety seminar can contact police administration at 701-456-7755.